(1904-1908)

Lawrence Clark began his fire fighting career with the Hamilton Fire Department. He was born in England and came to Hamilton at the age of 14.

Atter serving 14 years in Hamilton, Clark was hired in 1904 to replace Chief John Roe. There was some initial opposition to the appointment of an outsider, but Chief Clark quickly earned respect of his department and community. He was noted tor running the department with military precision and making it a model among Canadian departments.

In August of 1908, Chief Clark suffered the same tragic fate as Chief Roe. Chief Clark was killed on duty along with firefighter Henry Wein while fighting a fire at Westman’s Hardware. City council passed a resolution calling Chief Clark “a brave and fearless man, always first to face the flame, smoke or other danger.”

Fire Station No. 6 at 590 Oxford Street West is named in honour of Chief Clark.

To read more about this Chief, use the tag Fire Chief Lawrence Clark.